Spring Break Road Trip

For spring break, I took the kids on a road trip to several states and destinations.  We first made the trek to  Salt Lake City where we watched their first Utah Jazz game. We got there early to watch the players practice, had dinner at the arena and then watched a very exciting game.  The kids got to experience the  whole NBA atmosphere, they even were on the jumbo-tron several times thanks to the fun kids sitting behind us that liked to scream and dance. 

  We visited my Grandma Rush both days we were in Utah. She's now 86 and hadn't seen the kids since they were tiny. It was very special to see my kids and grandma together. And only at 8 years old, Abby is nearly as tall as her Great Grandma.

 We spent Easter in downtown Salt Lake, which I figured would be nice around Temple Square.  But after the kids got some history lessons about their extended family, there was not a place to eat open for miles.  We took the train and kept our eyes open for a place to get some food and were pleased to finally find a sandwich shop.

  The next morning we made the drive up to Jackson Hole and stayed in beautiful log cabin bed -n- breakfast.  It was the first time in such a place for me and was a little odd being among strangers, but leave it to Abby to learn every one's names and make new friends for all of us. 

 The next couple days we spent at a hot springs near Butte, Montana.  Fairmont springs exceeded our expectations with it's fun pools and fast water-slide. The kids roamed the resort all day while I got some nice reading done, a perfect match. 

 It was a great trip overall.  We put lots of miles under us and I tried to take lots of back roads with lots of fun stops.

Lights, camera....action!!

Several months ago, the kids' school music instructor suggested we sign Abby up for a local kids' theater program. It says a little bit on how Abby behaves in music class, but we all agreed that it may be good for Abby. She was signed up for a short theatrical version of Sleeping Beauty. After a quick reading by the young girls, Abby was selected to the most coveted role, Aurora, the princess herself. She had weekly practices at Spokane's civic theater and practiced all her lines at home as well. It didn't take long to realize this was a perfect fit for Abby. She loves it.  She's already signed up to perform Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in a few weeks.
 She did great in her first performance. We were very proud of her.  Here's a video of most of Abby's lines during her final performance. Click on the YouTube link.

http://youtu.be/Ysz87B874Ak

 (I apologize for misspelling Aurora).

Caleb's basketball

Caleb just completed his first year in AAU basketball.  He played on a the Chargers 10U team, a good team that really improved over the year, mostly due to their excellent coach.  It turns out Caleb is tall for his age, who would of thunk? He learned the post position this season and by the end of the year was a rebounding fool.  He started about half the games and always played a significant amount of minutes, a statistic that reflects how much he improved over the course of the year. This was his first time playing competitive basketball. The team placed in several tournaments and placed 3rd in the final AAU tournament, though their team did beat the number one seed in the semifinals.  I'll post some video of that game below.  Caleb had a big steal with about a minute left and then with the Chargers only up one point and 5.5 seconds left, Caleb was fouled in the act of shooting and made 1 of 2 free throws to seal up the victory. His reaction is priceless.
(A reminder that you need to visit the actual website to view the videos)


PS. You'll notice that Caleb's number is 12 in John Stockton's gym...that's my boy!!

Skiing Season

It's been a fairly crappy winter season. We've got plenty of snow, but we got the majority of it early and  not much new snow through the season. We've still gotten in plenty of trips to the mountain though! If I'm gonna buy a season pass for you, you are gonna use it.
  Here's a few pics from this year so far. Included is a couple pics of a drive up to the mountain and Abby being a ham for the camera. Photo bomb!

Hockey Night!

It may seem that I'm forcing my kids into becoming sports fans. It's true. I am. We've become quite the hockey enthusiasts since moving to Spokane, mainly by following the Spokane Chiefs. We typically like to go early and watch the teams warm up. It gives us a little more of a chance to interact with the players and good chance to catch a errant puck (Which we got this game).

Lady zags with my Lil' lady

I happened into some women's basketball tickets at the last moment on Saturday. I'm not a women's basketball fan but I knew it would a great memory for Abby. The zags were playing their cross-town rival WSU and it was sure to be an exciting atmosphere.
It took about 120 miles to get the tickets, take Caleb to his game and then get to the zags game, but we made it. We had a great time. It was sold out game and very close. The lady Zags ended up losing in the end. No matter, Abby and I had a great day together.
During halftime while walking around, I brushed shoulders with my childhood hero John Stockton. Abby was even excited for me. She even found him in the crowd and took a pic, do you see him? About 7 rows up near the aisle. His wife is a blond in a white shirt.
The following week we scored some front row sears from my manager and watched the lady zags take down BYU. Always a personal treat.

Because I Can

I've always wanted a tattoo, but I can't decide what and where to get. My mind changes constantly on what I want it to say and signify. So in the mean time, I've turned to piercings. You've been warned.

First AAU Tournament.

Turns out these AAU tournaments take up an entire weekend! Caleb's basketball team competed in an AAU tournament this last weekend. They ended up playing 5 games in two days. Which was a lot of fun for me.
Caleb continues to improve drastically on his first competitive basketball team. In the semi final game Caleb was called on to guard the opponent's best player due to some early fouls. He looked a bit nervous when his coach told him the plan, but took on the challenge and played his most physical game yet. Not only did he play great defense that game, but he also made several jump shots and hit a three pointer.
Their team made it to the championship and got second place. Go chargers!!

Dress Code

(sarcasm font engaged)

I'm not sure where Abby got her idea of individualism, but I wish she'd choose outfits that looked like all the other kids.

Bedtime Reading

One of my favorite things to see is Caleb and Abby reading. Both enjoy reading and both their teachers require it. Both kids have rigged up a night light and timers to read while in bed this year to accept their teachers' challenge of minutes read.